charlie8575

Oh, I do. I was at my preferred junkyard a couple of months ago trying to get a new gas tank for my mom's car, and they didn't have one, turns out they all rust in half like hers did, so Dave offered to order me a new one, and I said sure, go for it. Between the huge influx of "scrap" metal, the resultant price crash in an already depressed economy, and now with so many junk cars artificially off the road early years ago, a lot of yards can't meet expenses. Dave's dad started the yard in 1953 and last year, he had his first layoff- EVER, with a guy who we've all become friends with and had been an employee there for well over twenty years. It killed him to do it, but with no steady supply of real clunkers, business is way down. CFC did nobody any favors in the long term, it simply got people to spend money many of them shouldn't, dried up the supply of good older used cars that people in the lower echelons of the earning brackets, like myself, or people who simply don't like to spend a lot of money (also me when I have it, becuase I never know when I will or won't,) end up getting harmed, and the cars left- good luck finding the parts in far too many cases- again, all from artificial manipulation of the market. And now that a lot of yards are having their arms all-but-twisted into putting themselves out of business by selling cheap replacement parts, or as Dave said to me, "I almost have to help put myself out of business," it's a wonder a lot of them are still open. Charlie Larkin

Jealous, are we? Oh, she's a doll, no doubt about it, but boy, is she tiny! Guess you almost have to be to fit into Indy/F-1 cars. Charlie Larkin

On my last visit to Spare Time Shop... I got to visit with my friend Andrew (someone I now consider a friend) who's the manager. Picked up a Moebius Chrysler 300B. Checked out some paint because I could see the actual color, not rely on computer resolution that's frequently waaay off. And had a fellow wander in that taught both of us all about 3-cylinder 2-stroke Saab engines and how to prep them for racing and then have fun blowing the doors off of everything in sight, including the cops. Did you know those things could rev to 15,000 RPM? Talk about a chorus of angry chainsaws! You can't do that online. Sure, I'll buy stuff online if I can't obtain it easily locally, but where all the shops near me offer a club discount, I don't really need to shop online for a better deal, unless I might say, purchase an extra item to make the shipping costs hurt less. What's really neat about hobby shops, and I've seen this all my life is you'll have some absolutely fascinating people walk in and talk about all kinds of neat stuff, like the guy above to war stories, work stories that relate to modeling, and all sorts of other discussion. The boards are nice, but it doesn't replace human interaction. Neither does online shopping. Charlie Larkin

Why not? I think it's pretty cool. Charlie Larkin

Looks comfortable. Goes fast. Not a bad way to travel. Charlie Larkin

Another 3-4" of snow..... I have a feeling this is going to be a L-O-N-G winter. And I'm really wishing I had gone for a 4x4 pickup or Jeep/Blazer/Explorer/something like that when I bought my car a couple of years ago, just couldn't find one I could afford. Charlie Larkin

She looks like a midget in comparison. Charlie Larkin

'Vairs look good in black. Is the interior similar to the black-and-white check pattern in the Impalas, Al? Charlie Larkin

Nice job on the masking, Mike. I was going to do the Style-Tone on my '57 Ford, and I can't cut the tape right to fit, so I'm doing the roof two-tone instead. Two-tone paint is something I dread doing, but even with that little bit of work there, yours came out nicely. Charlie Larkin

Second that. Charlie Larkin

I grabbed one of these when they first came out, still have to build it. It's an interesting styling exercise, as for the first several years of 300 production, Chrysler only offered a grayish (so odd and ambiguous a color, I can't even call it "gray" definitively), and the buff/camel interior looks much nicer than the sole factory offering. I'm not sure if I like the flat white paint; personally, I would've gone with Tamiya's Racing White or perhaps the Testors "White Lightning" over the flat white base and made something akin to Cadillac's White Diamond. Blackout trim never did much for me, but the chrome rims add a nice little bit of sparkle to what can otherwise be a very ominous, sinister-looking, heavy-handed design. I think the second-generation refresh is a much nicer-looking car- not radically different, but the details changed enough so that it's improved substantially. I'd like a 2011-up Charger/300 in plastic. Yes, I would buy them. Charlie Larkin

Fantastic work, Richard. Charlie Larkin

Nice framing work. Charlie Larkin

That's a nice car to use for reference material. Remember, metallic paint was considered pretty much standard for most American cars in the 1960s, to have a non-metallic color would leave you with very few options. Unlike European cars, metallics weren't an extra-charge option except for Cadillac's "Firemist" colors. That turquoise Biscayne was about as invisible on the streets of America, 1965-up as anything else. Very common color and a low-trim car. Black, white, red, and I think a beige were your choices for non-metallics if you absolutely insist on it. Charlie Larkin

What else are you looking for? The paint and interior colors are all there. On the main page, there's also some paint chips if you need samples. Charlie Larkin

Jason, Check your newspaper want-ads, your local shoppers, Craigslist and other local advertising outlets. As Bill noted, you can pick up airbrushes inexpensively, sometimes a complete unit with a compressor, or at least get a compressor for short money. A Badger 250 is about $20 and is a good simple starter airbrush. :I have a Paasche H and like it, just be sure to clean it VERY thoroughly, as it can clog easily. Cutting enamels with lacquer thinner works well, as does de-canted spray paint, which requires little or no thinning. Except with Testors or Tamiya lacquers, which have their own thinners (trust me, nothing else works that I've run across), you can cut everything with hardware store lacquer thinner and use that for cleaning the airbrush. Simply block the nozzle with a paper towel and spray. This back-flushes the brush and does a pretty thorough job of cleaning it. Spray it normally and disassemble and clean prior to chagning color, though, to be safe. Charlie Larkin

Whereabouts is Madison? If you need to warm up, c'mon down to Massachusetts, we're probably a good ten degrees warmer right now. Welcome. Charlie Larkin

Eight inches or so overnight. Cleared in about an hour with the snow-thrower and shovel. Next. Charlie Larkin

It's a nice start. As it's become more and more apparent to me that I'll be a party of one (and not by choice, necessarily), the wife cage is something I don't need. I'd use that for a model display room. I'm seriously contemplating building this someday. Just right. http://www.antiquehome.org/House-Plans/1920-Harris/M1000.htm Of course, there's nothing in the rule book that says I can't do something similar to John's first floor-plan as an out-building.... Charlie Larkin

Some of the best foil work I've seen. This is coming out nicely. Charlie Larkin

Looking good so far, Oscar. Charlie Larkin

I would suggest sticking to Plasti-Kote or Dupli-Color primer for priming needs, as it seems to be a litttle more plastic-friendly, Plasti-Kote especially. Plasti-Kote can be found at CarQuest stores. As to the other stuff, Rust-Oleum seems to use rather hot bases. Test it on sprue before applying to plastic. Airbrushes needn't be expensive or complicated, nor do you necessarily need one. Look into a Preval sprayer. If you can handle a spray-can, you can handle this. The sprayers are about $20. You will need to buy a new air cartridge periodically, but they're a good alternative to airbrushes, especially if you have a color you want to use and don't have available in spray-bomb. Charlie Larkin

Gray fits early '50s Chrysler products, even convertibles. As does maroon, dark blue, dark green, and I remember a '54 Chrysler Windsor wagon around here that was a copper-brown color, actually looked good. I'll look forward to seeing this one come together, Rich. Charlie Larkin

Never heard that caution before, although I can see where it would make some sense. Charlie Larkin

Your father should treasure that. Good work, Ryan. Charlie Larkin